Witnesses to the Appearance of Christ the Saviour Reburied in Elista

The remains of Semyon and Maria Bondarenko were reburied beside the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, where the 1946 event remembered by Kalmykia’s Orthodox community took place.

On 5 September 2026, Elista held a reburial ceremony for Semyon Timofeyevich and Maria Pavlovna Bondarenko, witnesses to the Appearance of Christ the Saviour at the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in 1946.

Archbishop Justinian of Elista and Kalmykia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. After the service, the remains of the Bondarenkos were received at the cathedral’s eastern gate and carried to the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, where a memorial service was held.

Archbishop Justinian then blessed the grave cross at the couple’s new resting place, after which the burial took place. Their new grave is located near the church associated with their lives and with the memory of the 1946 event.

Semyon Bondarenko helped preserve the testimony about the Appearance of Christ the Saviour. An icon based on eyewitness descriptions subsequently became part of the spiritual history of Kalmykia’s Orthodox community.

The reburial took place ahead of the events marking the 80th anniversary of the Appearance of Christ the Saviour in Elista.

Sources: official report by the Russian Orthodox Church; Vesti Kalmykia report.